Estonia is a small country in Eastern Europe on the Baltic Sea, bordered by Russia and Latvia. So far, only a few children with HIV have been adopted from this country. According to Adoption.State.gov and Rainbow Kids:

Age Requirements: Potential adoptive parents must be at least 25 years old. There are no stated upper age limits.

Marriage Requirements: Single men and single women can adopt. There is no length of marriage requirement for married couples.

The Children: Unrelated children may be adopted at the same time. Children are very well taken care of at the orphanages with good nutrition, stimulating toys and high caregiver to child ratio.

Travel Requirements: One 3-4 day preview trip is recommended and sometimes required. Only one parent needs to travel. Trip length is 7-10 business days.

Timeline: The process from dossier submission to travel to adopt the child averages 4-12 months.

Further info from a recent adoptive parent: “Adopting a child with HIV from Estonia was affordable and the travel was easy. The airport is clean and modern and many people speak English. Estonia has one of the highest levels of college graduates in the European Union. The transportation is great and it’s easy to take the bus although taxis are cheap. The preview trip is rarely waived, but it’s only 3-4 days. As soon as court is over, you pick up your child from the orphanage. Our experience with the facilitator in-country was excellent in every way and he helped make our time in Estonia very efficient, comfortable and affordable. He even lent us a phone without charging us. We were very impressed with the level of care the children receive. Our child was in a family type setting with 8 children and 2 caregivers. They also receive good medical care. They are fed well and provided for and they go on field trips and do athletics.”

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What You Should Know About HIV

- HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and intravenously (such as used needles).
- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.
- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do. If anyone wants more info on transmission, there is great info on the Center for Disease Control website.